


Enduring Winter

by Sharyrazade



Series: Children of Men - Fallen PT AU [6]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Business, Closeted Character, Depression, Dream Sex, F/F, Female Friendship, Friendzone, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Murder, Pining, Sexual Confusion, Sexual Fantasy, Survivor Guilt, Unrequited Love, Workplace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 16:06:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12774576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade
Summary: A decade after the fact, Haru is still dealing with the fallout from her father's murder - particularly her guilt over the situation among other things.





	Enduring Winter

She was not especially energetic tonight; in fact, Haru was downright exhausted, seeing as she had spent the better part of the past twenty four hours on an inbound flight from London. Nonetheless, the woman who picked her up from the airport and treated her to a hot beverage of her choice at a cafe in one of the terminals, made it all worthwhile. "Of course, it's inferior to Sakura-san's," Makoto remarked after a sip of the coffee. "but I can't be choosy right now. So how was London? I've always wanted to go. Did you get to see many sights?"

Haru gave a weak, but genuine smile, more for the woman sitting across from her than the hot chocolate in front of her. "Do associates' factory tours count?" she asked semi-seriously.

"I see. I apologize for speaking so quickly; that's no holiday at all."

"Well, it was pretty boring, but not all bad."

 

She had never been particularly assertive, true. But perhaps she had been too subtle with Makoto over the years? From her not-infrequent use of the intimate diminutive _Mako-chan_ to more recently, often taking her side during her disputes with Futaba and Ryuji, Haru had thought she was being fairly blatant with her feelings for the longest time. Still, whether due to that melodious, stern-but-kind voice or that towering intellect she readily admitted dwarfed her own, Haru could listen to the other woman talk all night and, more often than not, did so. Even humoring her when the topic would turn rather...bitter concerning a blonde, semi-apocryphal coworker of hers:

"I'm sorry if I seem kind of annoyed tonight." Makoto prefaced. "Catherine just said something really stupid earlier in the week. But what else is new? It's what she does."

"I assume working in your department to be rather intellect-intensive." replied Haru disarmingly, aware on some subconscious level that "Catherine" was not actually a fellow officer of her very favorite person, but rather a fellow Phantom Thief.

Makoto scoffed. "Trust me, her brain has _nothing_ to do with it. You know our boss? I actually once walked in on her...well, pleasuring him...with her mouth."

"No?!"

"I don't _want_ to say it's why she has her job, but-"

Makoto interrupted her statement with a sip of coffee. "It's actually an open secret around the office, really."

 

Still, even through the passive-aggressive remarks and her general emotional fatigue, Haru could still nonetheless see the traits which had first drawn her to Makoto years ago. That caring nature of hers, even despite Makoto having come to offhandedly compare its previous main beneficiary Futaba to a very particular snake in a very particular garden, still shone through with her.  "He hasn't been bothering you anymore, has he?" she inquired sternly. "If he has, just say-"

"No, he hasn't." interrupted Haru, none too keen on allowing the other woman to get worked up any further. "I actually kind of feel bad for him. Apparently, Sugimura-kun had a few...issues he never let on about."

"I don't. Not in the least. If he hadn't been drinking that night, I would have never stopped him- I would have never forgiven myself had he done anything to you. And the fact that he had that knife in the passenger seat-"

"No, I don't think he would have done anything. For weeks, he'd been leaving me these rambling messages, going on about how sorry he was and how he'd show how much I mean to him...by killing himself."

It was probably not surprising that an immensely-possessive man with a mortal dread of being cuckolded like Haru's erstwhile fiance would have some other demons. What was surprising on the other hand, was the complete and abrupt cessation of contact as of late. Haru was reasonably sure he had not followed through on the threats to end his own life. Then again, she was also unaware of a certain police inspector roughing up Sugimura in a holding cell overnight.

Makoto smiled with relief. "Really, thank you, Haru." she said sweetly. "I feel like I can talk to you about anything. You really are the best friend a girl could ask for."

Haru chuckled, the laugh betraying some unease. "Yeah, I am, aren't I?" she replied. _A friend. That's ALL I ever am, isn't it?_

* * *

  _How on earth does this woman manage to remained so dignified, yet mind-numbingly sexy, even in a should-be-trashy latex corset, Haru wondered to herself, sitting on her knees and clenched in spite of herself.  
_

_"Now you're going to do exactly what I say, how I say it, understand?" said her mistress sternly. "If I'm satisfied, then you'll be satisfied - probably."_

_Haru gave a dutiful, light bow. "Yes, I understand, Mako-cha-"_

_Haru felt the abrupt sting of a riding crop against her cheek. "What was that?"_

_"Yes, I understand, Mistress Makoto." corrected Haru. "I never meant to offend. My body, mind, and soul, all are here for your pleasure and your pleasure alone."_

_"Good, so you know your place after all. Now then? Shall we get started?"_

 

 "Yes, mistress..." murmured Haru, much to the confusion and concern of the other parties to the conference call.

"Er, Okumura-san?" came the Balinese-accented voice of another CEO. "Is everything alright?"

Her eyes abruptly shooting open, Haru was mortified, whether from dozing off mid-meeting or the fact that she had been vocalizing her absolutely filthy dream. "I'm fine! I had a long flight yesterday and barely got any sleep." she half-fibbed.

"That's just as well." came the voice of the second CEO, the skyline of Bangkok in his rear windows. "Our negotiations have made little progress anyway. Shall we reconvene in an hour's time?"

The executives murmured and gestured in agreement as the call was suspended.

Leaning back in her chair, Haru reflexively hid her face in her hands. She didn't consider herself a homosexual in the least- Not that she had a problem with others being _like that_ , as it were (Just look at Akira and Ann! But then again, seeing as those two were married to each other and expecting, one could/should place an asterisk next to both of them), but there was just something about that woman, her voice, her touch, that made her go weak in the knees and her heart race. Not to mention forcing her to question most of, if not all of the assumptions she'd made about herself over the years.

Maybe things really would have just been easier if she'd gone through with her father's expectations. Perhaps he would even still be alive, she wondered sadly. Perhaps it was inevitable with such responsibility given to someone so young, but this notion of her personal life bleeding over into and affecting her work life was something that Haru had feared quite a bit, given who her father was. She'd already gained something of a not-entirely-undeserved reputation for touching young, auburn-haired, female interns just a little more than necessary, when they were a bit paler than average especially.

In spite of the haze of depression which haunted her, Haru was able to be honest with herself. _"If you hadn't, you would have never met the Phantom Thieves and all your wonderful friends. You wouldn't be doing all this good- you would have never met her- or at least, never had an actual excuse to talk to her."_

Switching on the television mounted over a bookshelf across the room, Haru was quickly reminded of tangible proof of some of that good. _"We return to you with more developments from Naypyidaw. Yes, we do in fact, have confirmation that a broad front of Shan, Karen, and Kachin armed groups have entered into a formal defensive agreement aimed at the central government, reportedly promising 'an ocean of Bamar blood should our self-determination be trampled upon further.' Now whether this means their goal is a broader autonomy or outright independence is currently unknown-"_

For the first time that day, Haru actually smiled, albeit slyly. Apparently, a man who saw himself as Indra, his country a golden palace, and its people his slaves (at the very best) would in fact still, after his defeat by the Phantom Thieves, get on his hands and knees and beg for his sorry life. Not that it did him any good, seeing as his myriad crimes told even the gentle Haru he needed to be put down like a mad dog.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I wasn't as happy with this one as I was the others. While she's easier for me to write than say, Futaba, I just didn't have as much material to work with as far as Haru was concerned, if for no other reason than being introduced so late in the game.
> 
> Anyway, you remember back with Akira and Ann and my account of how Okumura foods descended into factionalism with child labor scandals galore? There's a very good reason I picked a senior member of the Burmese regime as one of Haru's antagonists, namely the prolific child labor and assorted nasty things (which, don't kid yourself, is still going on, as of the time I'm writing this, late 2017) the regime either assents or gives tacit approval to.


End file.
